Bald Knob, Waterville Valley 10/21/09

[TDawg]

Summit cairn and Welch-Dickey view

After whackin' Sachem Peak back in April I'd been thinking about a return to Acteon Ridge to check out Bald Knob. Got some nice bushwhacking in this time out to this 2300 foot "knob" at the end of the ridge.

Started out at Smarts Brook TH and spent some time pokin' around the wide flume-type stream bed of Smarts Brook next to the Pine Flats X-C trail. Broke off Yellow Jacket trail and followed a sometimes dry, sometimes barely flowing stream bed up the slope till I saw the steep cliffs coming off Bald Knob to my left. I moved along under the cliffs till I found the first sketchy break in the rock to climb up. (Here's a not-so-good pic of the said sketchy gully.) The top of the gully dumped me out on steep and open ledges which I climbed to the top, taking care to not trample the lush lichens covering the granite.

Took some pictures from the summit area and poked around for more open ledges looking for a better view up into WV. I didn't get a nice open view in that direction but with a little work Tecumseh, Osceola, and the Tripyramids were all in view. One feature you sure couldn't miss from the summit was the Sandwich Dome massif dominating the view to the east.



I returned to a beautiful, flat ledge I had passed on the way up to set up my chair and sit in the sun for a while. Although it was kind of hazy, the views here were to the SW towards Stinson, Carr, Kineo, etc.



On the descent I had to angle more towards the col with the next bump on the ridge to find a safe place through the cliffs. After finding a safe exit, the rest of the way was a breeze. It was worth the afternoon trip to this nice little peak.

Back at the trail head, I noticed a herd path I had never seen before towards Smarts Brook that led to this. Any ideas as to its prior use?

 

[psmart]

Nice report. Bald Knob has been on my wish-list for a while.

Your photo link seems to be the cribwork for an old dam, probably for a mill. There are a lot of remnants like this in the WMNF, but usually not as well preserved.

 

[NeoAkela]

That's a great report - I've been wanting to check out Acteon Ridge for quite a while!

 

[NewHampshire]

Excellent preview! I might be whacking the whole ridge in a few weeks, and good to see it is worth it!

Brian

 

[1HappyHiker]

Thanks Todd for another very enjoyable report of your off-trail adventures!

 

[RollingRock]

A friend and I were there last year and just loved it. It is indeed a magical location that gave us a different perspective of the mountains.

So we tried bushwhacking to it a couple weeks ago trying the approach you used but we went too far up Yellow Jacket. We followed a dry brook [not the one you used] and we ended up on the peak between Bald Knob and Sachem Peak.

We found a very small cairn hidden by spruce branches at the very top. We then thought of heading over to Bald Knob but it was getting late.

We did find the brook you used on the way down and made a note where it intersects Yellow Jacket for next time. It's the first small man made bridge that crosses this brook not far from the intersection of Pine Flats and Yellow Jacket.

Thanks for sharing and your pictures do the peak justice.

PS I liked your report on Fischer and will have to try that one someday.

 

[TDawg]

Thanks for the responses, it makes writing these trips up worth it in some way.

Nice report. Bald Knob has been on my wish-list for a while.

Your photo link seems to be the cribwork for an old dam, probably for a mill. There are a lot of remnants like this in the WMNF, but usually not as well preserved.

Thank you, I was thinking old dam too. In fact, this old map shows a building just about at the trailhead for Smarts Brook. Perhaps it was a mill, perhaps a house with a nice water source.

That's a great report - I've been wanting to check out Acteon Ridge for quite a while!

Thanks. Sure is some good whackin' up there!

Excellent preview! I might be whacking the whole ridge in a few weeks, and good to see it is worth it!

Brian

Sure is worth it! Enjoy your trip.

Thanks Todd for another very enjoyable report of your off-trail adventures!

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! I enjoy yours as well.

A friend and I were there last year and just loved it. It is indeed a magical location that gave us a different perspective of the mountains........

.....Thanks for sharing and your pictures do the peak justice.

PS I liked your report on Fischer and will have to try that one someday.

Yes, it was nice for a different perspective from this pretty spot. Thanks for the comment on my pics. If you liked Bald Knob, Fisher is pretty similar.

 

[audrey]

Nice. We've done the Bald Knob to Sachem whack. Has anyone done Sachem to Jennings?

 

[Jazzbo]

Nice. We've done the Bald Knob to Sachem whack. Has anyone done Sachem to Jennings?

I hiked Acteon Ridge via Smarts Brook Trail. I cut over to the ridge from Switchback below Sandwich Col. I think hIking down the entire ridge would be pretty interesting. If you do the entire ridge bring lots of water because there's not much running water to be found up there. Definitely a fine route. Love to go back there again anytime. I found descending ledges below Bald Mt pretty steep. Thanks Tdawg for not walking on the lichens!

 

[psmart]

The dam might have been something like this one on Drake's Brook:
http://photos.whitemountainhistory.org/GalleryFilmstrip.aspx?gallery=269086&photo=8971425

 

[TDawg]

The dam might have been something like this one on Drake's Brook:
http://photos.whitemountainhistory.org/GalleryFilmstrip.aspx?gallery=269086&photo=8971425

Interesting, thanks for posting. That's a cool website.